SAISD: 132 teachers to be terminated; district says it's still overstaffed despite cuts

Decline in student enrollment, loss in revenue factored into terminations

SAN ANTONIO - San Antonio Independent School District Superintendent Pedro Martinez said more than 100 teachers will be terminated due to the decline in student enrollment and loss in revenue.

In an email sent to SAISD staff and teachers that was obtained by KSAT.com, Martinez said the decrease in enrollment has “placed us in a predicament of being overstaffed for the enrollment we have today and for what we anticipate for next year.”

“Regretfully, part of our process (Monday night) is to come forward with the names of some members of our SAISD community who were being recommended for termination due to Reduction in Force or a Necessary Reduction in Personnel,” Martinez said in the email.

Martinez said when the district started the budget process, it was overstaffed by 255 teachers. Resignations were down this year and it is still trying not to cut programs as it works through the $30 million shortfall.

Martinez said the district is reducing 18 assistant principal positions and has reduced 13 positions in central office.

A former Lanier assistant principal said in a letter to the board that, at the beginning of the school year, they had been given a list of teachers to "get rid of."

Martinez said the reduction of force was only determined by this year's evaluation.

Martinez also said that, even with the reduction, which is 3.9 percent of the teaching staff, the district is still going to be overstaffed by approximately 108 teaching positions.

Teachers with the San Antonio Alliance for Teachers and Support Personnel protested outside of the Burnet Center before the board meeting Monday.

"I understand that we are losing money and cuts need to be made," said Washington Elementary School teacher Gabrielle Garcia. "But the fact that we're being ignored and it's only after the fact that information is being released, it doesn't foster a great deal of trust between the district and the teachers."

At a district meeting on Monday, Martinez said 132 teachers will not be with the district next school year.

“And as I shared with you last week, this includes 63 teachers that were recommended for the Reduction in Force and Necessary Reduction in Personnel, as well as the termination of the 69 probationary teachers,” Martinez said in the email.

“We did not want to go any deeper with teacher job cuts,” Martinez said.

SAISD officials said in the meeting on Monday that the district is trying to not cut programs and will save as much as it can from attrition.

That fact that teacher resignations are down made the district’s job “that much harder,” Martinez said.